Ore-roasting furnace.



PATBN TE-D SEPT. 22,1903,

0.1. FONT'AIN'E. ORE ROASTING FURNACE,

APPLICATION FILED HOV. 18, 1902.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Altomeyi H0 IODEL.

No. 739,485. Q PATENTED SEPT. 22,1903.

c. A. FONTAINE.

ORB ROASTING FURNACE.

, APPLICATION FILED NOV.18, 1902. N0 MODEL.

\ 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' INVENTOR CWM MWU Af/omeyq UNITED STATES cAMILLE A. FONTAINE, on IOLA, KANSAS.

oRE-R'oAsTmG' FURNACE.

srncrricArioiv forming part of Letters Patent no. 739,485, dated.- September 22,1903.

. Application filed llovembei' 18, 1902. Serial Nd. 131,855. (No model.)

the lower end by means of gravity, supple-'- hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form in which I have contemplated embodying my invention, and said invention isfully disclosed in the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a roasting furnace or kiln embodying my invention, the central portion of, I

the same being broken away. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus also having its central portion broken away. Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view of a furnace. Fig. 4 is a detail view illustrating the construction of the rakes or stirrers carried by the rake-car and the arrangement for attaching them to the car. Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section on, the line 5 5, Fig. 2, somewhat enlarged, showing the mechanism for preventing the car from overspeeding during the descent fromthe upper to the lower rails. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a partial top plan view and a central longitudinal section of the rake-car, showing it in the position which it occupies on the lower set of rails, as shown at the right in Fig. 2.

This invention relates to ore-roasting fur- 'naces or kilns adapted'for roasting zinc or other ores which require stirring or agitating 'While roasting, such stirring or agitating being accomplished by. means-of a movable. car

or truck carrying a series of rakes or stirrers adapted to be moved through thefurnace, and one of the objects of the invention is to provide a construction in which none of the car-propelling mechanism is passed through the furnace itself. To this end the hearth or floor of the furnace is made inclined from oneend to the other and the car is propelled through the furnace from the upper end to My invention consists in the novel features 'lar track-section B.

mental propelling mechanism being provided to return the car to the upper end of the furnace in order that the stirring or agitating operation may be rendered practically continuous.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a furnace A, the hearth or floor a of which is inclined from one end to the other. The side walls a a (see Fig. 1) rest upon hollow metallic rails B B, the inner and up-- per corners of which ,project into the interior of the furnace at opposite sides of and slightly above the level of the hearth a and form guiding tracks or rails for the rake-car hereinafter described. The hollow rails B are cooled by circulating water therethrough in any desired way.. At each end of the furnace are ordinary metallic rails b b, forming ;continuations for'th e track of the rake-car.

b b represent the rails of an elevated track located above the furnace, preferably paral- ;lel to the hearth thereof, said elevated rails .being carried by brackets c, secured to the ibuckstays C of the furnace, as shown in .Fig. 3.

The upper and lower tracks are connected at each end by semicircular portions B B,

supported by suitable frames B B and providing at each end of the furnace means for transferring the car fromthe'lower rails to ithe upper return-rails, or vice versa.

. D D represent a pair of endless sprocket chains carried by sprocket-wheels d on a driving-shaftE at the higher end of the furnace,

said shaft being preferably mounted upon the frames B atthat end of the furnace, and sprocket-wheels d d on a shaft E, prefer ably carried by the frames B at the'lower end of the furnace, said shaftE' being mounted concentrically to the curved or semicircu- The upper laps of said sprocket-chains pass over the top of the furnace adjacent to the elevated rails, and the lower laps of said chains also pass above. the

top of. the furnace, said chains being supported when necessary or desirable by means of idle wheels or rollers (1 an additional idle portion of each chain parallel to and slightly from.

above the lower end of the lower track, as shown. The sprocket-chains D D are connected at intervals by cross-bars D D, (see Fig. 1,) which bars I term push-bars, and which serve to propel the rake-car from the lower end of the furnace to the upper end by way of the elevated return-track before referred to.

The rake-car is preferably constructed as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 and comprises three axles F, carrying rail engaging wheels, and connected by links ff at each side of the car, thus forming a car which is jointed in the center, giving a long wheel-base when the car is traversing the straight portions of the track and a short wheel-base to facilitate passing the car around the curved end portions of the track from the upper to the lower rails. The car is provided with a series of depending stirrersf, which in this instance are secured to a flange of a U-barf extending transversely across the car and secured to a pair of the linksf. The car is also provided with a pair of pivoted catches f preferably secured to one of the axles F, said catches being adapted to engage the pushbars D of the sprocket-chains previously described. I prefer to provide each of the catches f with a weighted lever or arm 1", which is adapted to engage a stop f so that the catch can be moved in one direction only and will be returned to its operative position by the weighted lever.

Adjacent to the semicircular track-section at the upper end of the furnace I provide mechanism for checking or retarding the descent of the car from the upper to the lower track. Such descent being aocomplished by gravity would tend to impart too high a speed to the car if the impetus of the latter were un-. checked. This apparatus comprises the following elements: A horizontal shaft G (see Figs. 1, 2, and 5) is mounted in the frames .8 concentric to the semicircular portions of the tracks, and to this shaft is secured a pair of weighted levers g, normally depending there- From the shaft G a pair of arrestingarms g g extend upwardly into the path of the car and may be connected by a crossbar 9 if desired. In order to lessen the shock or jar when the car comes in contact with the arrestingarms g g, I prefer to mount said arresting-arms loosely upon the shaft G and to connect them therewith by means of bracket-arms g g", cushioning-springs g being interposed between the arresting-arms and said bracket-arms, so as to avoid jar when the car engages said arresting-arms.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: The sprocket-chains D D are driven by any suitable power applied, preferably, to the shaft-carrying sprocket-wheels d, adjacent to the upper end of the furnace, and continuous motion is imparted to said chains. Supposing the car to be on the upper track in the position shown at the left of Fig. 2,

with one of the push-bars D and the car will be carried with the sprocketchain toward the upper end of the elevated tracks. When the car passes around the semicircularportion of the track, it will be engaged by the arresting-arm g g before described, and the descent of the car will move said arms, so as to rotate the shaft G, and thereby raise the weighted arms g. These weighted arms are so adjusted that they nearly counterbalance the weight of the car, thereby preventing the car from overspeeding as it slides from the upper to the lower track without stopping the car. When the car reaches the lower rails, it moves forward bygravity and passes through the furnace from one end to the other, the stirring devices raking the ore on the inclined hearth of the furnace. The furnace is preferably provided at its upper end with a swinging door H, adapted to open inwardly, and at its lower end with a swinging door adapted to open outwardly, which doors will be opened and closed automatically by the forward movement of the car. When the car leaves the furnace at the lower end, it will pass beneath the driving-chains and the catches f will be engaged by one of the push-bars D, thereby carrying the car around the lower semicircular track-section to the upper return-track and so to the upper end of the furnace. When the car passes out of the furnace at the lower end, should the catches f strike the rear side of a push-bar said catches will yield and pass under said push-bar, as will be readily understood, the weighted arms of said catches immediately restoring them to their normal position, so that they will be caught by the push-bar. The speed of the driving-chains will be substantially the same as the speed with which the car traverses the furnace by gravity, although said chains may be driven at any desired rate of speed.

The speed of the rake-bar through the furnace may be varied by varying the weight of the car, and to this end I prefer to provide the car with detachable weights F, which may be bolted or otherwise secured to the U- barf or other suitable portion of the car, and by increasing or decreasing the number or size of these weights variations in the speed of the car through the furnace may be obtained.

I have shown in the drawings a furnace adapted for use with natural gas fuel; butit is obvious that my invention is applicable to furnaces constructed for use with any desired fuel. At the lower end of the hearth of the furnace I have shown discharge-chutes I I for delivering the roasted ore into suitable cars or trucks K K, thus illustrating a convenient method of discharging the roasted ore.

I have also shown the rake-car provided with brushesf, of wire or other non-combustible material, for the purpose of sweeping the the catches f thereof will be in engagement t rails clean, as the car passes through the fur nace, to prevent the ore from accumulating on the rails.

.therethrough, and a gravity rake-caradapt ed to be propelled through said furnace by gravity, and provided with stirring devices,

substantially as described.

2. The combination with an ore-roasting 7 furnace provided with'a hearth inclinedfrom one end of the furnace to-the other, of inclinedguiding-rails, passing through said furnace,-

adjacent to said hearthand a gravity rakecar provided with stirring devices, substantially as described.

3. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace provided with an inclined hearth, inclined guiding-rails extending through said furnace, a gravity rake-car, provided with stirring devices, mechanism for returning said car from the lowerend of said guiding-rails to the upper end thereof, substantially as described. V

4:. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace provided with an inclined hearth, inclined guiding-rails extending through said furnace, a gravity rake-car, provided with stirring. devices, a return-track located outside of said furnace and connected w'iththe said inclined track, and mechanism located entirely outside of the furnace for returning said car from the lower end of said inclined rails to the upper end thereof, substantially as described.

5. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace provided with an inclined hearth, in-

clined guiding-rails extending through said furnace, a gravity rake-car, provided with stirring devices, a return-track located outside of the furnace and connected with the upper and lower ends of said inclined hearthrails, an endless propelling device located entirely outside of the furnace for returningthe car from the lower to the upper end of said inclined hearth-rails and devices for antomatically connecting said car to and disconnecting it from said propelling device,- substantially as describe 4 6. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace provided with an inclined hearth, inclined guidingvrails extending through said furnace, a gravity rake-car, provided with stirring devices, an elevated return-track located outside of and above the furnace,

curved track-sections connecting the ends of said inclined rails and the return-track, an

endless propellingcarrier, located entirely outside of the furnace, for returning the car from the lower to the upper end of said inclined hearth-rails, and mechanism for automatically attaching said car to and discon-' "necting it from said carrier, substantially as described.

7. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace, of inclined guiding-railsextending stantially as described.

9. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace, provided with an inclined hearth, inclined guiding-rails extending through said furnace,.a gravity rake-car, provided with stirring devices, an elevated return-track located outside of and above the furnace, semicircular track-sections connectingsaid elevated return-track with the inclined hearth rails, adjacent to each end ofthe furnace, and arresting devices in the path of the car, adjacent to the upper semicircular track-section for preventing the overspeeding of the car, in passing from the return-track to the hearth-rails, an endless carrier located entirely outside of the furnace for propelling the. car from the lower to the upper end of the hearth-rails, and mechanism for connecting the car with and disengaging it from said carrier, substantially as described.

10. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace provided with an inclined hearth, in-

clined guiding-rails extending through said furnace, a. gravity rake-car, provided with,

stirring devices, an elevated return-track located outside of and above said furna'ce, semicircular track-sections connecting the retur n-' V track with the hearth-rails adjacent to each end of the furnace, an endless-propelling carrier located'entirely outside of the furnace for returning the car from the lower to the upper end of the hearth-rails, an arresting mechanism for the car adjacent to the semicircular track-section at the upper end of the furnace comprising a pivotally mounted weighted arm and an arm connected therewith extending into the path of the car, substantially as described.

11. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace provided with an inclined hearth, in clined guiding-rails extending through said furnace, a gravity rake-car, provided with stirring devices, an elevated return-track located outside of and above said furnace, semicircular track-sections connectingthe returntrack with the hearth rails, adjacent to each end of the furnace, an endless-propelling carrier locatedentirely outside of the furnace for returning thecar from the lower tothe upper end of the hearth-rails, anjarresting mechanism for the car adjacent to the semicirculartrack-section at the upper end of the furnace, comprising a pivotally mounted weighted arm, an arresting-arm extending into the path of the car and a spring interposed between said arms to prevent shock, substantially as described.

12. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace provided with inclined hollow rails, supporting the side walls of the furnace, and having their inner and upper corners extending into the furnace and forming guidingrails for a rake-car, and an inclined hearth located between said hollow rails and below the level of the guiding portions thereof, a gravity rake-car for engaging said rails, provided with stirring devices,whereby said hollow rails may be cooled by passing a cool fluid therethrough, substantially as described.

13. The combination with an ore-roasting furnace, of inclined rails extending therethrough adjacent to the hearth thereof, an elevated return-track, connected to the hearthrails by curved track-sections adjacent to each end of the furnace, a gravity rake-car formed in sections hinged transversely of the car between its front and rear wheels, stirring devices carried by said car and an endcatches, for returning said car from the lower end to the upper end of said hearth-rails, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature in'the presence of two witnesses.

GAMILLE A. FONTAINE.

Witnesses:

D. B. D. SMELTZER, F. N. STEELE. 

